‘Under The Dome’ Renewed For Season 2

“Under the Dome,” originally planned as a summer miniseries, has been given a second season with eight episodes still left to air.

CBS announced the news today at the Television Critics Association press tour.

The new season will once again be comprised of 13 episodes and will air in summer 2014.

Executive producer Brian K. Vaughan, writer of “Lost” and celebrated comic books “Y: The Last Man” and “Saga,” has previously expressed his desire to have Stephen King, author of the novel the series is based on, contribute scripts — in much the same way “A Song of Ice and Fire” author George R.R. Martin does with HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”

Now, with Season 2, Vaughan will get his wish, CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler revealed today.

“We’re excited to tell more stories about the mystery of the dome and the secrets in Chester’s Mill, and are thrilled to have the master storyteller himself, Stephen King, tell the first one of next season,” Tassler said.

With a cast that includes Mike Vogel, Rachelle Lefevre, Natalie Martinez, Britt Robertson and Alexander Koch, “Under the Dome” is set in Chester’s Mill, a small town whose residents suddenly find themselves isolated from the rest of the world by a mysterious and impenetrable shield. The show explores the human and societal ramifications of this dome on the town, along with the search for its origin.

“Under the Dome” has proven to be a huge success for CBS during the summer period, when big dramas normally find it tough to gather and maintain a decent audience.

“Under the Dome” returns tonight with the sixth episode of the first season, titled “The Endless Thirst,” at 10 p.m. ET.